Egg-free French Toast

On Sunday morning I was craving French Toast.  Of course, the roommate is the only one who ever buys eggs in our house and, since he'd been gone for a week, we had none.  I told myself I wasn't going out until I had done a deep-clean of the house, so there was no going to the store or our usual brunch spot.  It was time to get creative.

I figured if anyone knew how to make French Toast sans eggs it would be a vegan, so I did a quick search and found a vegan French Toast recipe.  We all know I am not a vegan chef so I of course un-veganized it - adding back in milk and butter.  It's a great way to make French Toast if you're allergic to eggs or, like me, a lazy grocery shopper.  It's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  It would be awesome topped with fresh fruit or berries.  Basically, it's just batter-fried bread, and who can complain about that?  Certainly not me!



Egg-free French Toast
adapted from chef chloe

Ingredients
1/4 c skim milk
1/4 c flour
1 tbsp maple syrup (plus more for serving)
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 slices, 3/4" thick, french bread
1 tbsp butter

Instructions
1. Whisk together the milk and flour with a fork in a small bowl until smooth.
2. Add the maple syrup, ground flax seed, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla and whisk to combine.
3. Dip the bread in the batter until both sides are well coated.
4. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Once melted, add the bread, making sure not to crowd the pan.  If you need to do it in two batches, that's better than squishing the bread.
5. Allow the bread to brown on one side, then flip and allow to brown on the other side.  I like to press the bread while the second side is browning.
6. Serve with additional maple syrup, warmed.

serves 2

Peanut Butter: Attempt #1

Have you tried this?



It is the bomb.  I'm totally obsessed.  The only issue is how difficult it is for me to get to a Trader Joe's.  The ingredients are so simple - Roasted Valencia Peanuts, Roasted Golden Flax Seed, and Sea Salt - so I figured, why not try to make it myself?



I popped around and realized that homemade peanut butter is actually super easy to make.  I've always found peanut butter, unless purchased at a natural market like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, usually either isn't smooth at all or has all sorts of weird ingredients.  I really appreciate the ability to make my own foods from scratch and control all of the ingredients.



I also love adding flax seed.  This is such a healthy ingredient, and I love to sneak it into anything I can.  I kind of jumped the gun on this one and I didn't think about roasting the flax seed before I added it to the peanut butter - that's why I'm calling this one try 1.  Next time I'm going to do some seed-roasting, I'll let you know how it goes.



This homemade peanut butter is delicious!! It isn't as smooth as Jiff or Skippy, but it has comparable texture to my favorite Trader Joe's brand. I even found it a little bit easier to spread, even straight out of the fridge. It was fantastic on a PB&J sandwich for work.  I stored it right back in my old peanut butter jar for my reduce/reuse/recycle moment of the day.  I'd call it a great success, I can't to try some new iterations.




Smooth Peanut Butter with Flax Seed
inspired by Joy the Baker
(makes about 1 cup peanut butter)

Ingredients
1 1/2 c unsalted, dry roasted peanuts
1/4 c flax seeds
1 tsp sea salt

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in food processor.  Blend until peanut butter is smooth and shiny.  You may need to stop halfway and scrape down the sides with a spatula.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Flaxseed, Raisin, and Fig Granola Bars

Homemade granola bars have been all the rage on a lot of blogs lately.  I was finally inspired enough by the figs my mom sent me home with to make some of my own.

Brown-eyed baker made creating granola bars easy with a basic granola bar formula.  The only change I would make is to toast the oats and nuts first because they didn't come out crunchy at all.  Still, super delicious!  Below is both the basic granola bar recipe and the way that I made it.  YUM!

Basic Granola Bar Formula
from brown-eyed baker

1. Rolled Grains (2½ cups)
Suggestions: Oats, Rye flakes, Barley flakes, etc.

2. Nuts, Seeds & Spices (1 cup)
Suggestions: Almonds, Walnuts, Pecans, Pistachios, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Cinnamon, Ginger, etc.

3. Sticky Sweetener (1/3 cup + ¼ cup)
Suggestions: Honey, Agave Nectar, Molasses, Maple Syrup

4. Dried Fruits or Chocolate Chips (1 cup)
Suggestions: Raisins, Apricots, Dates, Figs, Prunes, Cranberries, Pineapple, White Chocolate Chips etc.

5. Binder (1 cup)
Suggestions: Pureed Dried Fruit, Apple Butter, Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, Unsweetened applesauce, etc.

Flaxseed, Raisin, and Fig Granola Bars

Yield: 8 to 12 bars, depending on how large you cut them

Ingredients:1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups rolled oats

1/4 

cup chopped peanuts
3/4 cup flax seed
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
1/2 cup raisins

Instructions:1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F with the rack in the middle. Lay peanuts, flax seed, and oats in a 9 x 13″ baking dish in a single layer. Bake for about 10 minutes until lightly toasted and golden brown. Set aside and let cool a bit.

2. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. (my pan was a little longer than this)

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, honey, applesauce, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla extract. Stir in the toasted oats, peanuts, and flax seed, making sure that it is evenly mixed and all of the oats are moistened. Mix in the figs and raisins.

4. Turn the mixture out into the baking pan and press into the pan, making sure it is evenly distributed and tightly packed.

5. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the freezer until the bars are firm, at least 1 hour. Remove from the pan and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.